A Libyan protester holds up a sign as she shouts slogans against Libyan leader Moammar Ghadafi in Benghazi, Libya, Friday. (AP Photo/Hussein Malla)

(Newser)
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The White House announced new sanctions on Libya's government and temporarily abandoned its embassy in Tripoli today, as a final flight carrying American citizens departed from the war-ravaged capital. The Obama administration announced unilateral sanctions against the regime of Moammar Gadhafi. White House spokesman Jay Carney said the government was working with international allies at the United Nations on other pressure to ease violence that erupted in recent days.

Carney said President Obama will meet with the United Nations secretary-general in Washington on Monday to discuss the situation in Libya. Carney did not immediately describe the sanctions in detail, but US Treasury officials warned American banks and financial institutions that they were required to scrutinize "private banking accounts held by or on behalf of senior foreign political figures" and any transactions involving diverted or illegal funds. Carney hinted that the sanctions will likely target Gadhafi and his inner leadership circle. Click for more.

Mother Nature made a mistake by locating most of the worlds oil reserves in the wrong place. The mistake can be rectified by building a gigantic pipeline from the Middle-Eastern oil fields to a Haifa oil hub, from there it could be loaded into supertankers. The pipeline would be protected against terrorists by Israeli`s settlers who would build towns and roads along the path of the pipeline. No longer will the industrial powers suffer from the anxiety of losing control of Middle-Eastern oil. 14th centuries cultures would then be at peace, they no longer would be fighting to own oil they cannot use.

Reader587

Feb 25, 2011 5:13 PM CST

If the bankers are as effective with the Libyan money filtering as they have been with mortgage restructuring for the underwater folks, then heaven help us all!

Non-deep-thinker

Feb 25, 2011 4:46 PM CST

Ooooh... We're going to "scrutinize" their banking transactions. My God, I hope we don't have to use that kind of force too often -- the image of them shaking in their boots is just too frightening.